ReviewPLOS digital health2022
The potential of digital molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Review in PLOS digital health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Structural biases in digital health intervention and health equity research: a bibliometric knowledge graph analysis (2015-2025).Frontiers in digital health · 2026Pooled it
- Ensemble Machine Learning for Malaria Diagnosis in Resource-Limited Settings Using Clinical and Demographic Features.Infectious disease reports · 2026Article
- Protocols for genomic epidemiology and source attribution of enteric bacteria causing diarrhoeal disease across Africa.BMJ open · 2026Article
- The Potential of Bioinformatics in Revolutionizing Disease Diagnosis in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Review.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Digitalisation of medicine in LMICs (sub-Saharan Africa): enablers, barriers, and funding strategies for sustainable health systems.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Health systems readiness for integration of point-of-care digital diagnostic tools for acute febrile illness in Ghana: a mixed-methods study protocol.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Plasmonic biosensors and actuators for integrated point-of-care diagnostics.Npj biosensing · 2025Review
- The malarial blood transcriptome: translational applications.Biochemical Society transactions · 2024Review
- Predicting the potential impact of scaling up four pneumonia interventions on under-five pneumonia mortality: A prospective Lives Saved Tool (LiST) analysis for Bangladesh, Chad, and Ethiopia.Journal of global health · 2024Article
- Improving transparency in malaria programme funds: A business case for connected diagnostics in Kenya.Journal of public health in Africa · 2024Article
- A dual paper-based nucleic acid extraction method from blood in under ten minutes for point-of-care diagnostics.The Analyst · 2023Article
- REASSURED diagnostics at point-of-care in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Developing inclusive digital health diagnostic for schistosomiasis: a need for guidance via target product profiles.Frontiers in parasitology · 2023Article
- Asymptomatic and low-densityPathogens and global health · 2022Article
- Correction: The potential of digital molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.PLOS digital health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is a large gap between diagnostic needs and diagnostic access across much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly for infectious diseases that inflict a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality. Accurate diagnostics are essential for the correct treatment of individuals and provide vital information underpinning disease surveillance, prevention, and control strategies. Digital molecular diagnostics combine the high sensitivity and specificity of molecular detection with point-of-care format and mobile connectivity. Recent developments in these technologies create an opportunity for a radical transformation of the diagnostic ecosystem. Rather than trying to emulate diagnostic laboratory models in resource-rich settings, African countries have the potential to pioneer new models of healthcare designed around digital diagnostics. This article describes the need for new diagnostic approaches, highlights advances in digital molecular diagnostic technology, and outlines their potential for tackling infectious diseases in SSA. It then addresses the steps that will be necessary for the development and implementation of digital molecular diagnostics. Although the focus is on infectious diseases in SSA, many of the principles apply to other resource-limited settings and to noncommunicable diseases.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.